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Where is the gym located?
South Burlington (VT), United States.

How many people train there?
15 full time adult members (gi and no-gi), 14 kids (gi), 12 kids wrestling. We have a lot of members that cross train from other gyms as well (drop in training partners).

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
We have been getting about 2 new members a month.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
White belt up to brown belt. But we are under Nick Bramlage, a 1 stripe black belt that comes to train monthly.

When did High Hat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, USA open?
We opened a small training room in June of 2023. In February of 2024 we found our current standalone location, which is when we began advertising.

Some facts about you:

Name: Shayne Fenton
Age: 50
Belt: Brown
Profession: Farmer
Years in BJJ: 8
Other martial arts: N/A
Currently living in: Charlotte, VT (15 minutes from the gym)
Originally from: Burlington, VT

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
I was training under a Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belt, and my son lost interest in that program. In order to keep him active, we opened a small training room near our house where we trained together. From there I realised that I was unhappy with the training as well. I was introduced to Nick Bramladge from Infinity Martial Arts, who is an Allen Hopkins blackbelt, and began training under his tutelage. Alex Z began training with me and we began brainstorming to find a larger location where we could build out the Jiu Jitsu program, but also build a youth wrestling program. After moving to the new location we brought in three-time Vermont state wrestling champion Jack Carney to lead the youth wrestling program.

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
In our adult program we have a high school senior, several members of law enforcement (both local and federal), a doctor, an executive vice president, a math graduate student, a physical therapy student, and many others.

The kids program has students from 5th through 10th grade.

Why do they train in High Hat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, USA?
Lifestyle change, community atmosphere, to be essentially a part of a support group. Some train for competition and some for self defense. Some of us come to train hard and get a good anaerobic workout and sweat.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
The population is small in our area. It can be challenging to incorporate new people into our gym and build their fundamentals while also keeping the more advanced people engaged. But we have established a good system that keeps it balanced. Vermonters live a very active outdoor lifestyle. It can be hard to pull people away from their lifelong interests.

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
We are very optimistic based on the growing interest. The sport is clearly gaining popularity. We offer an excellent combination of sport Jiu Jitsu and self defense. Our location and friendliness make us an excellent local option for training. Our goal is to double our adult enrollment by Christmas.

What’s the best thing about High Hat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, USA?
Our focus is on building a great training environment which is very welcoming. We are not focused on the financial aspect of having a gym, which gives us the freedom to vet new training partners.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
We are two miles from the Burlington Waterfront of Lake Champlain and the Church Street area. We are 1 and a half miles from the University of Vermont. We are 20 minutes from excellent hiking and biking trails, as well as some of the best ski resorts in the north east. We are an hour and 15 minutes from Montreal.

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit High Hat Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, USA you can contact them here.

 Alexander Backus – BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 43
Belt: Black
Profession: Forensic psychiatric nurse
Started training (year): 2011
City/country: Örebro, Sweden

 

Main achievements in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

Still having the most fun and enjoy playing the game.

 

Which Globetrotters camps have you attended:

Tallinn Spring Camp, Heidelberg and Austria Winter Camp

 

Which camp has been your favorite so far?

Tallinn Spring Camp 2022 because it was the first camp and for personal growth and connecting to the community. Really enjoyed just having fun together and learning alot.

Alexander Backus – BJJ Globetrotters Spring Camp

 

Favorite stories/moments from the camps?

Winter Camp when I started and lost a snowball fight with 20 ish campers from the balcony with no shirt on and with no snow. And like a cliche from an old move the american friend came to the rescue with a ton of snow so we could fight back.

That time in Heidelberg when I was told that everything closes at 01 o’clock in Heidelberg. I accepted the challenge and Heidelberg did not close :)

Every open mat at every camp. I learn so much and that is the best moments for me. Just to roll with so many awesome people with different styles and to share knowledge.

Alexander Backus – BJJ Globetrotters Winter Camp

 

Your favorite class/classes to teach at camp? 

The next class I am teaching is always my favorite :) Love to teach so every class is special.  Generally I like to teach fundamental stuff that everybody can do but at an advance level.

 

Anything else you want to add to your profile:

If you are not having fun when you are rolling. You are doing something wrong.

***

 Alexander Backus – BJJ Globetrotters instructor

Age: 31

Belt: Black (Judo)

Profession: Teacher

How many years in BJJ Judo: 27

Other martial arts: Karate, BJJ, MMA

Where do you live: Everywhere and nowhere

Where are you from: France

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: With the Judo Nomad project, I’ve had the opportunity to teach Japanese Jiujitsu, BJJ, and MMA. All those sports are martial arts that I never actually tried, and yet I taught either BJJ or MMA (Grappling) in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Australia…

Our disciplines are always linked somehow, and it is really interesting (if not more) to teach a class for people of other sports.

Julien Brulard – BJJ Globetrotters

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
Living in Japan for nearly three years with the goal of becoming a better judoka profoundly shaped my understanding of the sport. The philosophy and depth of judo I encountered there were far beyond anything I had learned in 20 years of practice. During my time in Japan, I developed a passion for teaching. As I traveled to nearby countries, I found myself frequently invited to teach, and these experiences were incredibly rewarding and friendly, sparking the idea for my project.

I dedicated many years to studying and achieving various certifications from the French Judo Federation, culminating in a master’s degree in high-level sport performance. Despite these accomplishments, I found it challenging to secure the job I aspired to—being part of a national staff or a special judo school. This realization led me to pursue my own project, fueled by my dreams and the inspiration I gained from my experiences abroad.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
My most recent adventure took me to New Zealand, a place rich in both cultural diversity and judo enthusiasm. I visited multiple clubs across the country, from Auckland to Wellington to the South Island, meeting incredible judokas and immersing myself in the local judo scene. One of the highlights was training with Dave, a 76-year-old active competitor, whose dedication and energy were truly inspiring.

NZ was the 40th country out of the goal of 197 countries. It has now been 3 years out of a planned 10!

Looking ahead, my journey will continue with a return to Europe. I’ll be coaching for Vanuatu at the Olympics, which is an exciting and significant milestone. After the Olympics, I’ll head to the UK to earn my IJF certification. During this period, I plan to explore judo communities in the UK, Ireland, and possibly Iceland, continuing my mission to teach judo and connect with practitioners around the world. Each destination brings new experiences and opportunities to share the art and philosophy of judo.

Julien Brulard – BJJ Globetrotters

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
Traveling brings a sense of adventure and discovery that I find incredibly fulfilling. I love the opportunity to meet new people from diverse backgrounds and immerse myself in different cultures. Every destination offers unique experiences, from the vibrant streets of bustling cities to the tranquil beauty of remote landscapes.

Teaching judo around the world allows me to share my passion and knowledge, while also learning from others. It’s inspiring to see how judo is practiced and appreciated in different parts of the world. I enjoy the camaraderie and connections formed through the sport, as well as the chance to grow personally and professionally. I feel like I give myself the chance of doing things that I would never have done in my life without this project.

Additionally, the challenges of traveling—navigating new places, adapting to different environments, and overcoming obstacles—are rewarding. They push me out of my comfort zone and make each journey memorable. Overall, traveling enriches my life with new perspectives, friendships, and unforgettable moments.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
The fact that my travel is based on training and teaching makes every hard moment worth it. If I weren’t teaching judo and Jiu Jitsu, I would probably have been bored already. Doing this, I feel like I have a family everywhere waiting for me; it’s indescribable.

I have had so many good experiences. For instance, I can mention the classes I gave in Nepal, where judo is primarily humanitarian, so I taught mostly in orphanages. I was welcomed by those kids like a king, always covered in flower necklaces, food, and beautiful smiles. I taught in one orphanage for kids who lost their parents during the 2015 earthquake. They organized a ceremony and applied the traditional red tilak on my forehead—it was memorable! The next day, I watched a documentary on Netflix about the earthquake called “Aftershock.” I couldn’t stop thinking that those kids I was with the day before were in it. I just broke into tears on the back of the bumpy bus going from Kathmandu to Pokhara.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
The possibilities available to us are truly limitless. Before starting this project, I was a bit pessimistic. The climate and mood in France felt negative, at least to me. I never would have believed that I would have so many opportunities just by traveling and teaching judo. I’ve been offered head coach positions in some of the strongest judo countries in the world. Today, I’m preparing to coach an athlete at the Olympics. I’ve had discussions with presidents of countries about developing sports, and I’ve met extremely influential people—some very good and some terribly bad.

I’m constantly surprised by the experiences I’ve had, even though I’ve worked extremely hard for them and sacrificed a lot in my life. The journey has shown me that the world is full of possibilities if we dare to pursue them.

Julien Brulard – BJJ Globetrotters

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
I’m a budget traveler on a million-dollar project. Traveling to 197 countries in 10 years is incredibly expensive. While I could adopt an extreme budget travel approach, I also aim to develop the project further, with hopes of building academies around the world or organizing special training camps, perhaps even in collaboration with you!

I plan my trips based on several factors. Firstly, I have a small monthly budget thanks to the support from people on Patreon, which allows me to teach judo for free everywhere—particularly in less affluent countries.

The process is the same in every country: I contact the local judo federation or reach out to my contacts there to explore potential collaborations. This often results in staying at academies or with local hosts, significantly reducing costs.

In countries where I can afford the cost of living, I plan to stay in a hotel one day a week or more. This gives me a chance to rest and handle administrative work that I couldn’t manage during the week.

For me, making a trip affordable depends on my contacts and organization. With the right connections, I can make even the most ambitious journey more feasible.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
There are many things I would recommend:

1. Go Off the Beaten Path: Some of the most incredible experiences are in the lesser-known places. Immerse yourself completely, learn the language or at least some of it, and participate in local traditions. This brings us to the second recommendation:
2. Be Open-Minded and Tolerant: Traveling for extended periods or to many places means you’ll encounter people with different or even opposing views. Learning how to communicate (or not) with these people is crucial. Remember that you’re not at home and need to stay humble. Even if you disagree with something or find it extreme, sometimes it’s best to just let people talk.
3. Embrace Flexibility: If you’re planning a budget and long-term travel like I do, flexibility is key. Everything changes constantly, and your plans are temporary. This requires readiness and adaptability. Not everyone can tolerate such a life, so be prepared for it.
4. Stay with Your “Family”: Whether it’s your jiu-jitsu or judo family, when you travel, find a gym, and after a few classes you’ll be part of the family. This not only enhances your travel experience, but can also save you from tricky situations.
5. Traveling with a Community: Traveling within a community is intense. Training can be hard when you’re not used to it, but meeting new people and new teams means frequent hellos and goodbyes. It’s an intense lifestyle but also leads to some of the best parties of your life!
6. Safety First: Be wise and cautious. Travel with your passport in your hand luggage, avoid illegal substances or shady activities, and train hard but smart.

Thank you to Julien Brulard – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview!

Where is the gym located?
Sociedad Secreta BJJ gym is located on Jacinto Dávila and Tnte. Hugo Ortíz streets in downtown Puyo, a beautiful city in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Its warm weather, breathtaking landscapes, and tourist attractions like rivers and waterfalls create the perfect setting to be in contact with nature and BJJ.

How many people train there?
The training team consists of approximately 25 people – including kids.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Sociedad Secreta is the fastest growing academy in the province. Despite being a relatively new academy, after just four months since our opening we have had great acceptance among people. Actually, we have on average 5 new students per week.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training in Sociedad Secreta, BJJ Ecuador?
Of the people currently training in Sociedad Secreta, purple is the highest belt, and we have several white belts. Additionally, we often receive visits from Joaquín Gavilanes, who is the black belt in change of the academy.

When did the gym open?
Sociedad Secreta BJJ opened on February 14th 2024. However, our official opening event was on March 9th, where people who attended watched Ecuadorian Chito Vera’s fight for the UFC bantamweight championship.

Some facts about you:

Name: Ivan Esteban Diaz
Age: 30
Belt: Purple
Profession: Dentist
Years in BJJ: 8 years approximately
Other martial arts: BJJ was the first martial art I got interested in. However, I have also tried kickboxing and Muay Thai.
Currently living in: Puyo city, Ecuador
Originally from: I was born in Puyo and I currently live here

Please tell us the story of how Sociedad Secreta, BJJ Ecuador came into existence
It all started with a group of four friends – me being the leader. We started practicing in my living room. At that time I used to live and train in another city, but I had the idea of creating an academy for many years due to the lack of BJJ gyms in my hometown.

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
The people training in Sociedad Secreta are part of my friends group, as well as other people who have joined this martial family, and we have created a solid group of friends full of good vibes and energy.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
One of the biggest challenges of running the academy was starting and positioning ourselves, but excellent marketing, good vibes, and love for Jiu-Jitsu have put us on the map, not only within the city, but the country.

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
We work hard every day to give BJJ visibility within the city, because a short time ago people didn’t know a thing about it. Our objective is to prepare athletes for national and international competencies. That’s why I remain active participating in competitions, to practice what I preach.

We take advantage of visitors like Joaquín. He supports the academy with workshop activities where students can learn and practice new techniques and, most importantly, have fun while doing what they like.

What’s the best thing about Sociedad Secreta, BJJ Ecuador?
I believe that the best thing about Sociedad Secreta is the friendly environment we have. We try to instill the BJJ lifestyle to every new student and make them feel part of this family.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
The Ecuadorian Amazon is the hometown of strong and capable people. This is a place full of potential to prepare world-class athletes just like Roberto Jiménez, Johnny Tama, the Iturralde brothers, and many others who put Ecuador in the BJJ map.

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit Sociedad Secreta, BJJ Ecuador, you can contact them here.

As we get ready for our 100th camp in a few days, I thought it would be fun to look back at some favorite memories from the last 12 years of this crazy adventure. While we’ve primarily focused on Jiu Jitsu at the camps, technique and rolling can be a bit boring to write about, so here is a non-exhaustive list, in random order, of memorable events from the last 99 camps!

The First Ever Camp

It was somehow coordinated that around 20 people—most of them I had met on a recent trip around the world—would all come train with us in Copenhagen for a week. Royce Gracie happened to be in town as well and he was actually the first instructor we ever hired for a camp. We had such an amazing time, and I knew right away that I had stumbled onto something special that I wanted to do more. They came back the next summer, brought some friends along, and the rest is history. I don’t have a single picture or video from that camp so you’re gonna have to do with the original spreadsheet of participants!

Fight Show in the Carlsberg Breweries

Our club in Copenhagen basically started out as a drinking club with a Jiu Jitsu problem and later turned into a Jiu Jitsu club with a drinking problem. We wanted to throw some big, fun parties, but we were poor. Early on, we realized that the camps could be a way to fund these dreams. One summer, we rented the recently closed Carlsberg Breweries buildings in Copenhagen and hosted a big summer party for the camp and our club’s members. We had a cage installed and ran some memorable matches; one of the kids from the club fought the teacher of the kids’ team. MMA rules. In suits. What a night!

Vodka & Violence

One of the first camps we did outside of Denmark was in El Salvador. Random, I know, but I wanted to go surfing. It was a small camp with only 20 people in a private house by the beach. We had a lot of spare time just relaxing in the garden during the day. Our beloved camper friend Oksana came all the way from Russia and didn’t speak any English. One day she was away with half the camp for sightseeing, and we decided to make a little film for her, completely in Google Translated Russian. And so, the movie trailer “Vodka & Violence” was born. I took us all day to film it because we laughed so much and had to film every scene so many times.

Swimming in the freezing ocean in Greenland

It’s already crazy enough to think that we hosted two camps in Greenland, of all places. The most remote, wild, and spectacular place I’ve ever visited. It’s expensive to get there, so I thought I would make the camp free for participants. To avoid too many people signing up for a free camp without being serious about actually going, I required a deposit that they would ONLY get back if they jumped in the ocean in Greenland during camp. Spoiler alert: Tons of people still signed up, then immediately realized that Greenland is far away and difficult to get to. I kept my word and only refunded those who got in the slushy waves with us! The camp itself was a truly amazing experience as we rolled with the locals, sailed with random fishermen to whale watch and got to know the life of people living in this special place.

“Crossface”

A handful of campers managed to put together a band and played live at the final open mat of the 2019 Summer Camp in Heidelberg, Germany. How often do you get to have a mosh pit at your open mat?

Summer Camp 2013 party & Fight Night

It was our club’s 10 year anniversary and we decided to have a big camp with a big party to end it. It was an epic location with a cage on the dance floor, where I had the silly idea to fight MMA against my long term training partner. Now veteran camp instructor Halldor from Iceland was only 16 at the time but his parents wrote a nice little handwritten note to us that said “It’s ok, Halldor can fight”. And so he got in the ring for an amateur MMA fight at the end up camp.

The First and Only UK Camp

It was the warmest week in 10 years in Bournemouth, and the camp was a beautiful, hilarious train wreck. Only one of the four big celebrity names we had on the poster actually showed up for the camp, but we had a fantastic time nonetheless.

Vikings vs. Tourists

It started as kind of a joke but ended up becoming a big tradition in Iceland: The Vikings vs. Tourists competition in traditional Icelandic wrestling, Glima. The old fighting art is struggling to stay alive, but we’re doing our part to help it as we once a year step up to get smashed by the Vikings and collect those sweet silver medals for Instagram.

“The Gentle Art of Travel” Documentary

Hands down the biggest side project we’ve ever done at the camps. Little did we know about a global pandemic lurking just around the corner, but it somehow made the long-awaited premiere an even more special experience. After two and a half years of work, we finally showed the film in a movie theater in Reykjavik, Iceland, followed by showings in Germany and Estonia before we made the film public on YouTube.

Open mat in a 1000-year old church

At the Castle Camp in Italy we had our own, private little church that dates back around 1000 years. One a rainy day, we pulled the mats in and it was perfect for an open mat!

Diving Contest Almost Became a Dying Contest

Our early camps in Belgium were in a sports hall with a swimming pool. An impromptu diving competition got us banned, but it didn’t stop us from doing it again at several other camps in everything from Olympic-sized pools to kiddie pools. It all ended in Arizona where someone dived from a giant ladder into a tiny pool, making everyone stop breathing for several seconds. She survived, but the diving competition was put to rest forever.

The Assassination Game

The assassination game started with squirt guns at the USA Camp, but we quickly realized that the Zen Camp in Poland was the perfect setting for this if we played it with plastic ninja swords. Countless hours have been spent hiding in bushes and trees, waiting for a target to come by.

We rented a Castle. Six times.

I had an old checklist of things I wanted to try and do in life, and one of them was to rent a castle. It took almost 10 years before the camps made that possible. It was supposed to be a one-off, but we ended up having Castle Camps five times in Italy and Portugal. Those were small, intimate camps with only a few people and lots of food and wine.

Hosted Two Weddings

It happens that people meet at camps, and somehow it also happened that some of these people decided to get married at camp. Why not!

Forest Fisticuffs

The wrestling show at the USA Camp in Maine was a random idea one year, but it quickly became a new tradition that I think will keep happening for many years to come.

Cabin Parties

During the pandemic, we really missed our pub crawls at the European city camps. We still managed to do some camps in the US, and that’s when we got the idea to do a “pub crawl” between the cabins of the USA Camp in Maine. The moment we found ourselves dancing in a tiny, wooden cabin with a DJ and decorations all over, we knew this would have to become a staple of that camp.

Scooter Race

A horribly bad idea, but to everyone’s surprise, nobody got hurt during a giant race on electric scooters at the Beach Camp in Pärnu, Estonia. Not sure we’ll do that again, though!

Plague Camp

Just months before the pandemic, we had a Winter Camp where pretty much everyone got sick with a horrible fever. At some point, we just gave up waiting it out, and the open mats were a battlefield of fever hallucinations. Many of us got tested for antibodies later on, and it wasn’t COVID, so we’d like to believe we did the whole pandemic thing before it became cool for the rest of the world. Can you spot the special guest on the group photo?

50th Camp Party

The 50th camp in 2019 was celebrated in style with an epic party in Heidelberg, Germany. We somehow negotiated an all-you-can-drink deal with the place at a very good price and ended up literally drying out the bar. The staff was very impressed; the manager, not so much.

Black Belt Promotions

While we do belt evaluations and promotions at camp now and then, it’s something that we keep to a minimum. Over the course of 99 camps, we’ve promoted only four black belts, as far as I remember. Each time, it has of course been a very special moment, as it’s always someone who has been part of the camps for many years. Honorary mention goes to Giles Garcia, who got his black belt disguised as a pizza, with no clue what was waiting for him in the box!

Dodgeball Championships

At the USA camps in Maine and Arizona, we’ve had some epic dodgeball tournaments. Nothing comes close to the moment when Seb from the UK—who is slightly disabled—took out an entire opposing team on his own and sprained his ankle in the process. The victory scene was straight out of Rocky, and we don’t have any pictures of it because everyone was lost in the moment.

Someone Borrowed a Flag

There are many ways the camps have made their mark on the world. One of them was when a certain iconic flag was missing from a certain iconic castle in a certain Central European country. Legend says that a group of people (who may or may not have been campers) spotted it from a bar and decided to go borrow it in the middle of the night, scaling a castle wall that had up until that moment defended the city from invaders since medieval times. The flag was returned safely with an apology note a few days later.

The Party Camp

Everyone who went will testify that this was one of the wildest camps ever. Distortion was a street festival in Copenhagen where more than half a million people partied in the streets every day for a week. It was pure madness, and I don’t think there’s anything like it anywhere in the world. So we decided to host a camp during the same week where both Gianni Grippo and Kenan Cornelius were teaching. Incredibly enough, we actually managed to train quite a lot every single day!

Snowman Competition

When a team of Icelandic guys signed up for the first-ever snowman competition at the Winter Camp, we knew we could expect something out of the ordinary. Look at how proud they are of their art piece!

Kids’ Disco Night

We have done a lot of fun things for grownups at camp, but at the summer version of the Austria Camp, we’ve been trying to do the same for kids. One of the most fun things we’ve hosted has been the kids’ disco night. It’s approximately an hour of dancing with balloons, costumes, and glowsticks, but we often hear from the kids that they felt like it was all night long and the best night of their lives. So cute!

The First Winter Camp

The first Winter Camp in 2015 was a complete mess. We didn’t have much experience yet in organizing camps, and it showed. We all had a great time, but I slept a total of two hours in three nights and I was pretty sure I was going to pass out on the last day when I found myself basically all alone to load mats onto a truck and drive them to three different Judo clubs around the area. The later Winter Camps became better and better organized, and the only few little things we can report from there are minor occurrences, such as setting a bar on fire.

Techno Bunker

Where and how the Techno Bunker exactly started, I am not sure. But it has become a tradition that has spanned many of our camps now. Usually kicking off at midnight at some point during a camp week, it’s a lights-off, glow-in-the-dark, techno open mat.

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There are many more fantastic memories I could add to this list but I will have to stick with this. Here is a little bonus slideshow with photos of good times at camps that I stumbled over when researching for this article:

Next stop is our one-hundredth camp, starting in two days. I am currently sitting in a strange, small castle hotel next to a highway just outside of Rome, finishing up this article before we head to the camp tomorrow, early in the morning. It’s been a long and wild ride to get to this milestone and I often stop to think how on earth we ended up here.

I deeply appreciate each and every one of you who decided to join us along the way, whether for a little bit or for many years.

Thank you ❤️

Christian

Age: 33

Belt: Blue

Profession: Cloud support engineer for a data governance solution at a big IT company. Used to be an English teacher once upon a time (yes, I sang baby shark with a bunch of 7 year olds). Also had a one-night gig as a waitress at a strip club during my student days.

How many years in BJJ: First contact in 2018, training regularly since Sept 2021.

Other martial arts: Joined karate classes during the 90s karate boom in Poland, but my parents signed me out after a couple of classes for fear I was going to beat up boys at school (spoiler alert, I still did). My dad taught me some boxing principles (he is a boxing instructor by education), which I eagerly tested on the boys. In high school I took up capoeira for one year. I earned the first corda (white-yellow), but never learned my Capoeira name (the coach gives you a name after the batizado, first graduation).

Where do you live: Right now Puerto de Sagunto, Valencia, Spain, is the place I call home. But Spain in general.

Where are you from: An absolutely grim shithole in central Poland, Grojec. It was my life’s mission to get away from the place. If it weren’t for my parents who still live there, I’d probably never go back. Other than this, Poland is a pretty cool place to be from, and many people genuinely believe in the legendary Polish power.

Other fun or curious information you would like to share: Although I was a highly independent and capable child, my mom had spoon fed me until the age of 9. I knew perfectly well how to operate cutlery, but why bother if someone could do it for me? I had a low appetite anyway. The only thing that would do the trick and make me eat by myself was to threaten to tell my school “fiance”.

As a kid, I was madly in love with Ricky Martin (him being gay wasn’t common knowledge back then, thank god). I fulfilled my childhood dream by going to his concert in Barcelona a few years ago, and he was as dashing as ever.

I would do fashion shows for my parents using towels and scarves. Once I even employed my grandma and great grandma, who were seamstresses, to sew clothes based on my designs. There were items for me, my mom, and even some sort of a thong for my dad 🤣

I drove alone from Poland to Spain and back, which gave me serious driving trauma.

Monika Leżańska – BJJ Globetrotters

 

Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
I’ve always been inspired to travel, so traveling and training was a natural step, especially since before Jiu Jitsu I did Crossfit for a while, where visiting other gyms is also a common thing. I have zero motivation to work out by myself, and I am not disciplined at all when I travel, so it feels good to throw in some Jiu Jitsu training here and there for my physical and mental well-being.

Gyms feel like home, regardless of the country. When I enter a gym, I am back in my comfort zone and I know what to do and how to behave. Everything is familiar and the people are not strangers – they are my training partners. It balances out the constant novelty of traveling.

Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
I’ve been on a traveling streak for the past 10 years (unleashing the beast started with ditching my ex, doing my first solo hitchhiking trip from Warsaw to Gdańsk in Poland, and going on the Erasmus exchange to Lisbon), and even more now that I work remotely and can afford more traveling. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting on a plane back from Poland after the Zen Camp to Valencia. The camp was an opportunity for me to rediscover Poland and look at it through the eyes of a tourist for the first time – and it’s so beautiful in spring. I went sailing in the Lake District (Mazury) in the north of the country, and overall I felt reconnected with my roots. Before Pärnu (Beach Camp) in July, I’m planning to visit Finland for the first time (long live matsurfing). In the meantime I’ll do some short trips with my camper van. Spain is a paradise on earth for caravaning and hiking, and my region – Comunidad Valenciana – is especially abundant in calas (small sheltered beaches) and pozas (natural pools).

Monika Leżańska – BJJ Globetrotters

What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
Because I get bored and become restless quickly, I enjoy the novelty, the thrill of an unfamiliar place, the feeling that anything can happen. The renewed sense of awe towards ordinary things – just walking down the street in a new place, watching people have a coffee etc. The change of routine, clearing my mind of daily worries. Also, I find the experience of traveling from one place to another almost meditative. I never get bored at the airport, on a plane, or in the car. I am not in my usual place (with my usual thoughts), not yet at the destination – it’s some sort of in-between space-time where there is nothing to do and I’m alone with random thoughts…

I am a huge advocate for couchsurfing, which I use both as a host and surfer. Over 50 people must have surfed my couch in Lisbon. There were 2-week streaks where I just washed bedsheets over and over, because every 2-3 days I had new visitors.
Thanks to couchsurfing I met people I would probably never meet in normal life and I got to peek into their daily lives, hear their stories, learn their recipes, and compare our habits and languages. I saw places I would never see otherwise. I visited bars and restaurants and natural spots hidden from tourists. In Thailand, I got to do a road-trip with two Thai girls. We camped at a natural park with a bunch of other locals, where I was the only foreigner.

With some of the couchsurfers I’ve built friendships that lasted for years, some of them until today. I even got my first teaching job through couchsurfing.

Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that make it worth traveling and training?
Globetrotters camps! To the camps I owe so many amazing people with whom I became friends. Like Jakub Siberski (aka. The Last Man Standing) – we visit each other and have so many adventures together (yet we remember so few)! I got to see my idol Craig Jones at a seminar in Thailand <3.

I enjoy the sense of belonging to a Jiu Jitsu community. The people are genuinely happy to receive visitors at their gyms; I have always felt very welcome. It’s a great way of measuring my level not just against people from my club, but a wider population of athletes with a variety of different styles. I learned a lot of useful things and tricks from other practitioners and coaches. Visiting other gyms also helped me mentally before competitions by removing the fear of facing strangers. I step onto the mats with more confidence and one less layer of anxiety.

What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when traveling?
I had so many adventures, big, small, weird, strange, and heartwarming, that it’s hard to pick a few.

I got close to getting married in Marrakesh so that we could stay in one room with a male Moroccan friend. According to Moroccan law, a man and a woman cannot share a room unless married (it applies to Moroccan citizens only). I even went to the washroom to wash my feet: my thought process was that one shouldn’t get married with dirty feet 🤣🤣🤣

Almost got arrested for wearing shorts in Rome. Okay, not me but my ex, and getting arrested was probably out of the question. My ex had a habit of pulling up the legs of his shorts (a habit shared by many Crossfit people, someone please explain). On that hot August day he was wearing a long tank top, which combined must have made him look like he was not wearing any shorts at all. Clearly it must have been a violation of some Roman street rule (no male shall bare his legs in public or something), because we got approached by the polizia, who first inspected his lower body and instructed him to pull down the legs of his shorts so that they cover his thighs. The polizia-men were totally fine, however, with my tiny shorts barely covering my butt. Viva l’Italia!

In some small Spanish village we struck up a chat with a local, and when he found out that I was Polish he started reciting Witold Gombrowicz (a modernist Polish writer) from memory and explained that he learned the language by himself because he really enjoyed his writing. Mind blown.

Among the people I hosted on couchsurfing, there was one psychologist specializing in dreams. I am usually a very rational, down-to-earth person, but I do acknowledge there are things beyond our comprehension. We talked a lot about sleep-related phenomena, like lucid dreaming. During her visit, I experienced it for the first time, without trying or exercising. It was a thrilling experience. We also had a very interesting dream-therapy session, which made an unpleasant recurrent dream I used to have go away.

Monika Leżańska – BJJ Globetrotters

Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
If there was an award for budget traveling, Polish people would get it without a doubt. The desire to travel and explore is so deep, it’s really impressive how far we can stretch our tiny PLN budgets. I managed to travel a lot as a student by means of couchsurfing, staying in the biggest dorms in the cheapest hostels (some places I’d rather forget), sleeping in my car, wild camping sometimes (illegal in most of Europe), traveling to where I had friends; no taxis, only public transport, getting food and drinks from supermarkets rather than eating out, doing stuff that is free, planning things ahead and doing research to avoid tourist traps, choosing options for locals rather than for tourists (eg. a hotel-provided taxi in Marrakech is 4 times more expensive than one hailed in the streets). Traveling with hand-luggage and being smart about packing.

Even though now I don’t need to be so disciplined and I seek more comfort when traveling, the above habits are still my default and I can choose to break them to treat myself, or when I am tired etc. The accommodation is a secondary thing to me, I don’t travel to spend time in a room. So as long as I have a bed and a shower (will pay extra for no cockroaches), I am good. I definitely spend more on experiences now, like trips, classes, sports activities, cultural or historical attractions, but overall the student mentality allows me to travel a lot and not ruin myself in a blink.

If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
I think Globetrotters are a bunch well versed in the art of traveling, so I’m not sure what else I could share. I can highly recommend couchsurfing (or matsurfing); people are often shy or worried about staying at a stranger’s place, but in my experience the pros outweigh the cons. Same for hostels. I also love traveling alone – I very rarely travel with other people, and as much fun as it is to travel with company, I find those solitary trips more enriching and I usually do more things and I am motivated to be more active and outgoing. Also, get a van :D I absolutely love my #vanlife trips, the freedom to sleep wherever I want and just roam around.

Thank you to Monika Leżańska – BJJ Globetrotters for making this interview

Where is the gym located?
Húsavík, Iceland. It’s a small town with a population of 2500 people. The closest big town/city is Akureyri.

How many people train there?
Around 25 people, which makes 1% of the population of Húsavík.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
It has grown on average by 5-10 people a year. During the summer we see an increase in members, as well as some people who move into town just for the season.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
The practitioners are white-purple. The coaches are both brown belts.

When did BJJ North, Iceland open?
Early 2021, just in time for Covid closures.

Some facts about you:

Name: Andri Dan Traustason
Age: 32
Belt: Brown
Profession: CFO
Years in BJJ: 15 (with a few years’ break)
Other martial arts: Dabbled in kickboxing years ago
Currently living in: Húsavík
Originally from: Húsavík

Name: Kristján Gunnar Óskarsson
Age: 35
Belt: Brown
Profession: Psychologist
Years in BJJ: Almost 9
Other martial arts: No
Currently living in: Húsavík
Originally from: Húsavík

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
Both of us moved back to Húsavík a few years ago, after living elsewhere for several years to pursue higher education and work. After moving back to town, we wanted to start a club both to introduce other people to the sport, and frankly for an opportunity to train ourselves.

Within a few months, a decent amount of mats had been bought, a room in the town’s gymnasium was booked, and the first beginner’s course was advertised. From that point onwards, the club has kept growing. We have now moved the club to a new space, built a subframe under the mats, and grown the overall mat area.

Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
It is a diverse group of people, aged 16-48, from several nationalities and backgrounds. Most are hobbyists, but there are a few competitive practitioners that have gotten podium finishes in tournaments, most recently in the last Icelandic National Championship.

Why do they train in BJJ North, Iceland?
Aside from their passion for BJJ and interest in improving their skills, they train for their health, wellbeing, and entertainment.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
Since the club is run on a volunteer basis, the classical issues of funding etc. are less important for us than many other clubs. In our case, the issues are usually related to the specific circumstances of the club. For instance, the diversity of the practitioners is of immense value for the club, but it also brings certain challenges. Since we have a relatively small group but a large spread in technical capacity (white to purple), it can be challenging to set up classes in a way that benefits everyone.

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
The number of practitioners has grown a lot since the club was founded, but the growth has tapered off now as the group has become more established. We currently only have classes for adults, but this is likely to change soon. Later this year, the club will start offering classes for children and teenagers, which will boost our numbers again.

Having said that, we are happy with the reach of the club. A large percentage of the adult population of the town (≈2-4%) either currently trains with the club or has given a beginner’s course a try, so we are happy with how the sport has spread within the town in just a few years. Assuming we manage to maintain some growth, BJJ will become one of the biggest sports in the area soon.

What’s the best thing about BJJ North, Iceland?
How personal and close-nit it is. Everyone is welcome so long as they treat others with respect.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
Húsavík is very well placed as a hub for sightseeing in the area. The town is located on the shore of Skjálfandi Bay, which is world renowned for its whale population and whale watching. So much so that it was recently named a Hope Spot by Mission Blue. Additionally, the town is within a short driving distance of many amazing nature spots, including Dettifoss (UNESCO site and Europe’s most powerful waterfall), Mývatn, and geothermal hot spots.

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit BJJ North, Iceland you can contact them here.

Joshua Macri – BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 40
Belt: Black
Profession: BJJ Instructor
Started training (year): 2006
City/country: Weaverville, NC USA

 

Main achievements in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

The things I’m most proud of in my BJJ career are related to teaching.  I ran a huge Jiu Jitsu school for 6 years where I was able to start teaching kids and helping them love BJJ.  I’m most proud of having started my own school after that and building a gym culture I really enjoy.  I suppose it’s notable that I lived in the closet of a BJJ school for 3 years.  I haven’t really done anything super flashy and that’s not really my style.  I just love that I’ve done something cool for 18 years and met a lot of awesome people along the way. 

 

 

Which Globetrotters camps have you attended:

I have attended USA Camp 3 times, Arizona Camp twice, Beach Camp, Zen Camp, and Winter Camp.  USA Camp is my favorite and Winter Camp is a close second.  All the camps are great but I like when we all stay in the same place.

 

Which camp has been your favorite so far?

USA Camp is my favorite and Winter Camp is a close second.  All the camps are great but I like when we all stay in the same place.

Joshua Macri – BJJ Globetrotters Winter Camp

 

Favorite stories/moments from the camps?

My favorite story from USA Camp is actually really tame compared to the camp.  Jay Pages sat with us all through our lobster dinner and we were just spraying lobster juice everywhere.  Jay just casually says “yea I am deathly allergic to shellfish” and then just keeps hanging out.  I was pretty sure I had found my people.  

  My favorite story from Winter  Camp was when a legion of middle aged people descended upon an Austrian dance club.  All the kids were basically well behaved and having a nice time and then we all showed up drunk.  Next thing you know there are mostly naked old guys hanging from the ceiling and crowd surfing for no apparent reason.  I was found wandering around in my t shirt trying to figure out where the hostile was.  Good times. 

 

The best part of every camp is the friends you make.  I’m writing this from the airport on my way to visit Angel who I met at USA camp.  My traveling companion is Frederik, a Swede I met in Arizona and then again in Parnu.  I’ve made lifelong friends at these camps and that’s the wildest story by far. 

Joshua Macri – BJJ Globetrotters camp

Your favorite class/classes to teach at camp? 

My favorite classes to teach so far have been Creativity in Submissions and Arm Drag Hub.  It’s my goal to teach different stuff each time so every class feels like my favorite.

 

Anything else you want to add to your profile:

 I love visitors from globetrotters at my gym.  If you are a coach then please come out and have a seminar.  If you are a student then please come visit.  We will train hard and go see some pretty things in the NC mountains. 

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Joshua Macri – BJJ Globetrotters instructor

Where is the gym located?
We are located in Port Orange, Florida, the city right next to the world famous Daytona Beach.

How many people train there?
We currently have 45 consistent members training with us.

Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
The gym is growing, we add around 10 new members a month.

What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We have all skill levels training here, from “never stepped on the mats” white belts to black belts.

When did Stadium MMA, Florida open?
I opened the gym two years ago this month (March).

Some facts about you:

Name: Kelly Green
Age: 49
Belt: Brown
Profession: Gym owner
Years in BJJ: 14
Other martial arts: Besides BJJ I also have trained Muay Thai in combination with MMA since day 1
Currently living in: Port Orange, Florida, USA
Originally from: Rochester, New York

 

Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
I had moved to Thailand to live and train permanently, and was back visiting my sister to get a new visa. She asked me to stay for a few months and then we got the Covid shutdown. This threw a wrench in my living in Thailand, and when I was fed up with cancelled flights and regulations changing daily I decided to move back to Florida where I had lived many years ago. I wanted to share all that I learned training at Wand Fight Team in Las Vegas and my time living and training in Thailand. I flew down to Florida for a week and found the location to open my gym.

Tell us about the people that train in Stadium MMA, Florida – who are they?
The students are from all walks of life, like most of the gyms. We definitely see more of the very new to combat sports type of people. We pride ourselves on being a place without cliques and where everyone feels confident and welcome.

Why do they train?
The people who train at Stadium MMA are just like all of us. They all train for their own reasons, from getting in better shape, mental well being, and some to test themselves and compete in combat sports.

What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
The biggest hurdle in running a BJJ gym is the same as any business that has competition – making yourself stand apart from the rest.

 

How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
BJJ in our area will continue growing, and we hope that anyone with interest will give it a shot and find a spot in the perfect gym.

What’s the best thing about Stadium MMA, Florida?
The best thing about our gym would be our students and the acceptance of anyone with an interest in giving training a shot, no matter what their personal reasons are. Everyone is welcome here.

What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
We are in Florida, so the beach of course! We’re also within an hour or so of all the theme parks and the Space Centre. There’s tons of stuff to do in the area.

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Thanks for sharing! If you’d like to visit Stadium MMA, Florida you can contact them here.

Arnoud Terpstra – BJJ Globetrotters

Age: 33
Belt: Black belt
Profession: Jiu-Jitsu coach, Breath coach
Started training (year): 2008
City/country: Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

 

Main achievements in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:

I won some medals here and there and trained at some cool places. But nothing comes close to seeing my students grow and succeed. Starting my academy and giving others a place to train and work on themselves, but also providing people a sense of community, a chance to form friendships and see new places is the most fulfilling thing there is. This is my main achievement and ongoing goal.

 

 

 

Which Globetrotters camps have you attended:

I’ve been to two camps so far: Spring Camp in Tallinn and Summer Camp in Heidelberg. So I’m still new to the whole Globetrotters family!

 

Arnoud Terpstra – BJJ Globetrotters instructor

 

Which camp has been your favorite so far?

Tough choice! Both were amazing experiences! It would be a coin toss. Maybe Heidelberg was the slight favorite because I could take my dog with me, haha.

 

Favorite stories/moments from the camps?

So far I had two similar experiences at the camps, where I walked around on the mat and when things suddenly hit you. You look around, taking it all in, seeing hundreds of like-minded people from all over the world doing what they love and connecting with each other. It’s hard to describe, but it made me realize that these camps are something truly special and that it is so much more than just training jiu-jitsu together. And that for me, when I think about it, these jiu-jitsu camps are – strangely enough – not that much about jiu-jitsu but more about other things.

 

Your favorite class/classes to teach at camp? 

So far I’ve only taught one class, on the front headlock and arm-in chokes. People seemed to like that class so it will definitely be an option for Spring Camp. But overall, I’m a huge fan of the ideas that guys like Priit Mihkelson, Chris Paines and Wim Deputter teach. It’s material that I like to teach to my students at home as well. But, me teaching that material at camps would just make a cheap rip-off of those guys so I will come up with something else ;). Hey, I might even teach a class on the twister this year haha. I have to come up with something else!

 

Arnoud Terpstra – BJJ Globetrotters Summer Camp

 

Anything else you want to add to your profile: I am really looking forward to this camp, joining some cool classes, meeting new people and seeing old friends! Also, if you happen to find yourself in The Netherlands, I invite you to pay a visit to our gym. We welcome all visitors and love having students/instructors over from other teams! See you all soon! *does shaka*.

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Arnoud Terpstra – BJJ Globetrotters instructor